PRINCETON, N.J. – Columbia fell behind early and couldn't mount a second-half comeback, as the Lions were handed their first Ivy League loss of the season by Princeton, 57-39, Saturday night in women's basketball action at Jadwin Gymnasium.

The loss snapped Columbia's (16-4, 7-1 Ivy) eight-game winning streak, which matched the longest in program history. Princeton (16-4, 8-0 Ivy) held the Lions to just four first-quarter points and took a 19-point advantage, 35-16, into halftime. Columbia never gave up and played energized basketball in the second half, but the deficit just proved too much to overcome.

"Princeton is a very good team -- it's not a secret and I think everybody knows that," Columbia head coach Megan Griffith '07CC said. "It shouldn't have been a secret to our team but I think we were a little bit stunned in the beginning. We missed a couple of shots and we missed some layups early. [Princeton] gets going … and all of the sudden we're a little tight. I think, for our team, that's some maturing that we need to do. We need to understand that good teams are going to make it more difficult than it has been for us and that's what Princeton did tonight."

Columbia scored the first five points of the second half and held Princeton scoreless over the first four-plus minutes. Another 5-0 spurt later in the quarter pulled them within a dozen courtesy of Kitty Henderson and Jaida Patrick. However, Princeton's Julia Cunningham answered in a flash, hitting back-to-back threes in a span of 24 seconds to spike the margin back to 18.

Henderson and Patrick led the Lions offensively, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively. The two combined to shoot 8-for-20 (.400) on a night where Columbia's leading scorers, Abbey Hsu and Kailyn Davis, were limited to just seven points. Henderson tacked on seven rebounds, while Hsu tallied a team-high eight.

Princeton's offensive effort was spearheaded by Julia Cunningham, who scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Ellie Mitchell posted game-highs of 14 rebounds and five assists. Abby Meyers (16) and Grace Stone (10) rounded out the Tigers in double figures.

Despite the outcome, the Lions outscored Princeton, 23-22, in the second half. Columbia went on its largest run of the game, 10-0, during the fourth quarter after the home team had taken a 26-point lead.

"We just have to make sure we make the right adjustments and prepare them [next time]," Griffith added. "We take ownership of what happened tonight and we move forward with our heads held high … If you don't take a lesson from this game about what it's like to be prepared when the ball tips, then it's all for naught."

The Lions close out a stretch of four straight road games next Saturday when they visit Yale (13-8. 6-3 Ivy). Tip-off from Lee Amphitheater in New Haven is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.

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